Disappearance
by anonumos
Summary: After a few months without a phone call, just a poor handmade postcard addressed to Aomine's house, everyone finally had settled with the fact that perhaps Aomine was really cutting ties and starting afresh somewhere. Not Kagami, though.
1. Disappear

**© weirdgrammar**

**Prompted by: Mr Clint - _disappear_**

**Credit: kiriohisagi-san  
>(for putting up with my shit)<strong>

**AoKaga**

**Kuroko no Basuke**

* * *

><p>No one had seen it coming.<p>

Not even Kuroko. Not even Momoi. And Kagami... he, too, didn't see it coming.

Aomine hadn't given anything on his face too. After Momoi had hugged Kagami's arm and announced happily 'me and Kagamin are now dating~!' Aomine looked surprised for a second before his face smoothened out into bored, fast, then he turned around to take his leave.

He exchanged looks with Kuroko, or he could say partially exchanged look because Kuroko kept a blank look, blocking anything from surfacing on his face. Knowing the look wouldn't offer him an answer, he turned the front again and watched as Aomine walked out of the court.

What he didn't know at that moment was it had not been just out of the court, but Aomine walked out of Tokyo district, out of their life.

Kagami found out about it the next day, on Touou's graduation day, from his girlfriend with a full on sobbing of 'Aomine-kun has gone missing!' barking down the phone.

Right then, like Aomine, part of his world, too, had disappeared.


	2. Ghost

…-…-…

**-Five years later-**

…-…-…

The room was still and quiet, the only sounds the steady beeping of Tatsuya's heart monitor and the whoosh of the ventilator as it assisted his breathing. Tatsuya didn't look much different from he'd seen him last month. He looked calm and peaceful, the left side of his face and head bandaged, the right side serene and smooth as if the terrible accident hadn't happened at all. Kagami chose to sit on his right side, joining Murasakibara who been sitting there gods know for how long.

"How's he?" he asked, his voice stirring the deafening silence of the room.

"Not moving."

It was short and spoken softly. Murasakibara didn't say anything afterwards.

Kagami resisted the urge to sigh. He was hoping for a better explanation, needing some good news about his comatose brother to lift up his mood after going through another shitty day at the station and putting out a blaze in the city, but noticing Murasakibara's collapsed shoulders, dark look with bags under his eyes, and the absence of sweets in his mouth, Kagami made a point not to probe further. Murasakibara had been going through as miserable life as he had been since Tatsuya slid into coma, and he knew well the other male didn't need a stupid lie to spark a false hope.

It was just plain stupid.

"You think he's going to wake up?" Kagami whispered as though he didn't want to wake Tatsuya up.

"He has to. Muro-chin promised me something."

"Promise?"

"He promised me to buy me Mauibo."

Kagami smiled, a sad smile, not really a smile at all, just muscles working around his lips. "He spoiled you a lot, didn't he?" he concentrated on the right wheel of the hospital bed, on how the wheel caused a black scuff mark when it was moved each time, and there were lots of scuff marks back and forth. Kagami tried to count how many times it had been moved. Dozens, perhaps.

He wanted to slam his head off desk. He shouldn't be doing this, distracting himself from watching Murasakibara shower Tatsuya with affection. Murasakibara had reached forward and was running his long fingers through Tatsuya's hair, ever so gentle and slow it could have been a caress. He studied Tatsuya's face and hands like he was waiting for a sign, a response to his affection or to their presence. When all on the surface remained calm and still, Murasakibara sat back in the plush chair which obviously dwarfed by him.

Murasakibara didn't show it but Kagami knew better the silent response crushed Murasakibara's heart.

And that just shattered Kagami's heart.

"You should go home," he spoke again after a second, flicking up his eyes in the window's direction, across the bed. Beyond his reflection on the window, he could see colourful lights glittering like fireflies against the blackish city. It was already late. "Have some rest."

"'m not leaving Muro-chin," Murasakibara mumbled under his breath, his eyes still on Tatsuya's face.

"Go home," this time, his voice was firmer. "Have some sleep. You're tired."

"No. He'll get lonely."

"For fuck's sake, just go home!" he snapped his head to Murasakibara, eyes narrowed under the lowered brows. "Your drooping shoulders, your slouched posture—you're fucking exhausted, Murasakibara! You think Tatsuya would be happy to see you like this?!"

"And how about you?" Murasakibara raised his head at last. "You think Muro-chin would be happy to see you like this? Haven't moved forward. Still helpless like before. Actually, worse than that," his tone was flat, yet sufficed to make Kagami's gut twist.

"Since Mine-chin's sudden missing, you walk like a zombie and stop moving forward. You keep looking for Mine-chin and ignore Muro-chin, ignore Sac-chin, ignore people around you. You make everyone worried. You make Muro-chin worried! And why do you think Muro-chin decided to move here from Akita and got into the accident in the first place?"

Murasakibara's outburst silenced him. No, he wasn't surprised to hear Murasakibara finally lash out probably the longest sentences he'd ever heard him saying in the whole eight years of rocky friendship they'd shared for the sake of person they both loved; Tatsuya. But he was startled to hear the heavy accusation Murasakibara had thrown at him.

Kagami had been blaming himself for what had happened to Tatsuya and suspected that behind the sympathy looks people gave him, everyone was blaming him as well, but it was nice to pretend the otherwise. It had been until Murasakibara spat it out, loud and clear, his unfiltered sharp, monotonous words ringing across the room, and honestly, it hurt him more than he'd been imagining.

Slowly, Kagami ducked away from Murasakibara's gaze, almost wanting to double over from the blow.

It seemed Murasakibara finally had snapped out of his outburst when he pressed his mouth into his hand and turned away. "Shit..." his word muffled into his large hand.

From the curse, it didn't have to take a genius to figure out that Murasakibara had spouted all but only the truth.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room while the droning beeps trickled.

Kagami opened his mouth. Closed it. "I—"

"Go home," Murasakibara cut him off, his words stepping over Kagami's before diffusing into deafening silence once more. Then he added. "You stink."

It sounded so petty to his ears. It was a stupid reason to kick him out of the room but after sweeping a gaze over his own body, Murasakibara had his point. He was wearing a dirty white t-shirt, paired with worn out orange cargo pants, old black boots that who knows for how long he hadn't washed them; he looked much worse than Murasakibara. Kagami wasn't sure about that 'stink' part (he'd taken a shower at the station before coming here) but there was no point to argue about that at the moment.

Kagami pushed himself up to his feet with a huff. It felt like something heavy pulling him down back to the chair, demanding him to redeem his mistakes by making him suffer as he watched Tatsuya with Murasakibara by his side, but he kept himself together. It had always been so hard for him to take his leave, feeling so helpless, so useless, while his brother was still lying motionless in bed, still attached to the transparent tubes and myriad of machines and wearing oxygen mask, suffering from the inside. It was harder when he took a swing to the door while now knowing Murasakibara was actually blaming him for what had happened to Tatsuya.

Clasping the knob, Kagami glanced over his shoulder at Murasakibara. He swallowed thickly. "You... should go home... whenever you can."

Murasakibara raised his hand, his gesture lazy, without looking back. Kagami slid the door open and left the room with a broken heart.

The sounds of his pounding boots were echoing through the bright hallway. The bright fluorescent light hurt his tired eyes. A nurse walked in his direction with head down, her white shoes silent on the floor completely contrast to his as if she was floating. Kagami gave her a nod out of courtesy and continued walking to the lift. His mind was still reeling when he pressed the button. He lifted up his head to look at the display, watching as the red number of the floor changed to his floor.

The door dinged open. There was no one inside. Kagami moved to the corner then pressed his back on the cool steel wall. He tipped his head back to rest it against the wall, staring at the green number of the floor changing again.

9 to 8.

8 to 7.

7 to 6.

6 to 5.

Downwards... or was it 'backwards'?

Kagami dismissed the question. At least it was moving, and it was the only thing that mattered while he was still stuck in the past, the one when Momoi had yelled 'Aomine-kun has gone missing!' into the phone. Heck, he could still hear the very same pitch and voice ringing in his ears even though Momoi's voice had gone softer and more feminine last time he'd overheard her and Kuroko's discussion about him, about his depression—as what they assumed it—outside Tatsuya's room.

The door slid open again, and he stepped out of the lift but he hadn't moved from the memories. He still could see it; Aomine's look that devoid of emotions, totally disconnected as everything was blocked out on his face. It haunted him, lingering in his mind for years. His ominous silence. His sudden leaving.

And his sudden missing.

Kagami often wondered, if he had the ability to read mind, to know what had crossed Aomine's mind when Momoi had announced their relationship, what would he have seen? Everything had been normal before Aomine's sudden missing. Intense one-on-ones, stupid squabbles, Aomine's arrogance taunting him, Aomine wheedling him to cook lunch (or dinner) for him while Kuroko and Momoi had been there to keep them from tearing each other's throat.

He remembered his relationship with Momoi had been getting better and closer. Sometimes he would steal glances in Momoi's direction while playing one-on-one with Aomine, or catch her doing so with her face blushing brightly before she had turned away to pass Aomine his bottle. He'd sent her e-mails in the between of him texting Aomine and Kuroko for another game. The love bits had bloomed and after few weeks of seeing each other, he'd plucked up the courage to confess to her under a shady sakura tree with a wind traipsing by. Surprisingly, she'd accepted his confession and agreed to be his girlfriend before sharing their first, innocent kiss.

Everything had been normal and good for him.

Then Aomine's sudden missing had sent his life spiralling in another direction.

He remembered he had got frustrated by Aomine's disappearance. He remembered he had sprinted to Touou Academy from his apartment after she had phoned him. He remembered he had frantically pushed his way through Touou's graduated students to look for Aomine. He remembered he had gone to Aomine's house to find him. He remembered he had glimpsed the fallen look on Aomine's mother's face when he had mentioned Aomine's name. He remembered he had been handed a copy of police application letter Aomine had left for his parents.

He remembered his heart had clenched at the name written on the letter.

_Aomine Daiki._

He, however, didn't remember why he had felt so frustrated reading Aomine's name. All he remembered was he had kept cursing Aomine under his breath, chanting 'irresponsible bastard, irresponsible bastard, irresponsible bastard' like a prayer.

The news of Aomine sudden missing had spread so widely it had reached Akashi who at the moment lived in Kyoto. He and the Kiseki members had gathered to discuss about Aomine a week later but Akashi had decided to leave Aomine alone because apparently nearly all of them had scoffed at the thought of Aomine in casual shirt with a bag slung over his shoulder, Biology textbook in his right hand while walking towards the university entrance.

That was everyone except him, Akashi, and Kuroko.

So it might be as well that Aomine had chosen his own way, filled out the police application letter, packed his bag, and left before university entrance exam began.

At first everyone had expected a phone call. Momoi had always put her phone on outdoor mode, Kise had kept checking whether he had a missed call from Aomine or an unknown number, Midorima had made sure his phone fully charged, and Kuroko had kept his phone close to him. He, too, had waited for a call from Aomine.

After a few months without a phone call, just a poor handmade postcard addressed to Aomine's house, everyone finally had settled with the fact that perhaps Aomine was really cutting ties and starting afresh somewhere.

Not him, though.

Kagami couldn't accept that Aomine suddenly went missing without giving a proper explanation to them, to _him_.

It was just…

…irresponsible. So fucking unfair.

Kagami struggled to stop himself from drifting further into memories because he knew what followed next; his awful university life, his broken relationship with Momoi, Kenta's death, and Tatsuya's accident.

Kagami clenched his eyes tight to shake off the past but he could see everything behind his eyelids. He reached his arm out and found his hand bumped with something hard and cold. It was probably a wall, or a person, or a tree, he couldn't see with his eyes close. With the guidance of his hands, he leaned against it (it was a wall. He hadn't reached the hospital front door after all, still in the deserted entrance hall) and slid down on the floor heavily.

Fuck, it was getting harder to breathe. His eyes were glazing over. Lights, steel chairs, cold tiles, everything was spinning around him in alarming ways. He could feel the cold air from the air-conditioners biting into his skin, his fingers cold and numb. Oh shit, something very like much like panic was clawing at his throat, at his chest, and oh gods, he wanted a drink. He needed a drink. Everything was too hazy, blurred, and he could hear a child's voice, like Kenta's, and there was Tatsuya's voice as well, screaming into his ears 'this is all your fault!'

He covered his ears and shrank into the cold wall to block out the noise. It didn't work. Tatsuya's and Kenta's voice kept yelling 'this is all your fault! Your fault!'

"Shut up," he hissed.

'Your fault!'

"Shut up!"

'Your fau—'

Something huge landed on his shoulder.

Startled out of his panic attack, Kagami's head jerked up, and he found a pair of familiar dark blue eyes looking down at him. The massive palm and fingers on his shoulder squeezed, and it was supposed to be reassuring, comforting, but he felt none of that; too startled, too shocked to see the one who he believed had triggered his spiralling life five years ago.

"Aomine?"


	3. Insomnia

Sometimes it was terrifying what changes that could happen in five years' time. Kagami recalled Momoi's hair was much longer, but nowadays she kept her hair short – he almost didn't recognize her when he saw her with a short hair for the first time – or Kuroko had his front fringes longer that they often hid the emotion flashing in those pools of soothing blue, or their usual court which he remembered seeing trees border around it, but last time he'd walked past it, they had been chopped down and replaced by parking lots.

It didn't apply to Aomine, though.

He still had the same look; a pair of sharp dark blue eyes under the lowered brows, short dark blue hair, tanned skin, well-built body beneath the jacket, the sleeves were rolled up to the elbows revealing his shifting tendons as he tugged at the bag strap, and the very same scowl. He hadn't changed much, as if the time stilled around him.

"Aomine?"

"Holy fuck, he's been right. You look fucking awful," Aomine said.

Damn, it'd been awhile he didn't listen to that voice. Aomine's deep, smoky voice took Kagami back to five years ago where they had a stupid fight over dinner a night before Aomine had gone missing. Their last dinner together, and it jogged his memories again. Everything, their shared moments, their fight came to him in fleeting fragments, and Kagami trembled, his hands that rested beneath his ears now were sliding down helplessly.

Kagami was lost for words and unable to think properly, his mind in a whirl, but he guessed Aomine took pity on him, the hand on his shoulder gliding down to his wrist, and Aomine pulled him up with a loud huff. Kagami struggled to lever himself to his feet and his free hand was windwhirling to find something to hold on, trying his best to ignore his shaking knees and the panic attack and confusion that threatened to knock him back on his ass.

His shaking knees, however, failed him, and he found himself falling straight into Aomine's arms, hard. Aomine staggered backwards a little from the impact.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten how to stand up properly, Bakagami," Aomine sneered into his shoulder.

Had it been another time, had he not been in a panic attack, had Aomine never been missing, he would've kicked Aomine's ass to return the favour. He had always been allergic to Aomine's stupid taunts and insults, thus the stupid fights. Aomine knew how to push his buttons and drive him up the wall. But this time the trick didn't work, overwhelmed by frustration, confusion, and the feeling of Aomine's solid body against his. He buried his face in Aomine's shoulder, his hand tugging at Aomine's shirt tightly, both convincing himself 'this is real, Aomine's here' and not wanting him to disappear again.

If Aomine noticed his lack of response, he didn't make a comment about it. Instead Aomine allowed Kagami to lean deeper into him, wrapping his arms around Kagami as if it was a natural response like breathing, letting Kagami curl himself against him and ignoring Kagami's shudder against his chest, and Aomine buried his face in Kagami's hair.

Just for a second.

Just for a broken moment of time, they held onto each other as if trying to take back those five years they'd lost.

Kagami felt a pat on his back and heard Aomine say; "Come. Let's get that big fat ass of yours moving." Kagami knew it was the cue to pull away from the hug. He took a step away from Aomine, head down, and gods, it took him some considerable energy to move his foot. He watched his foot swing, inside screaming 'noooo!' He didn't want to let go of Aomine yet. Aomine was going to disappear again if he let him go.

Kagami had no clue if Aomine could read his mind, but it probably looked obvious on his face, or his gestures, or whatever because Aomine was holding his wrist and whispering; "Chill. I'm not going anywhere."

It was hard for Kagami to lift up his head to level with Aomine's eyes.

It, however, was a mistake to meet Aomine's sharp eyes. Those eyes were studying him, narrowed as unreadable emotions swam behind them. Feeling uncomfortable under Aomine's scrutiny, Kagami lowered away his gaze with a faint blush on his face. Fuck, he was acting like a school girl.

"You _are_ a pussy," Aomine said suddenly.

Uh huh, Kagami didn't mean to say that out loud. It seemed his muddled mind was unable to differ between an interior and exterior monologue anymore.

"I hate you," he muttered under his breath.

Aomine turned to the door. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Fuck you," he cursed, getting his old self injected into him again at Aomine's dry reply. He let Aomine take him by the wrist and lead him outside the hospital.

"Appealing idea, but I'm not bottomed for anyone."

"Go fuck yourself," he watched Aomine's bag bob up and down as they descended the stairs. He could hear sirens blaring in the distance, and there was a cold wind slicing up his cheeks. Tokyo was sliding into a silent transition from autumn to winter. How had he not noticed the biting cold atmosphere before he entered the hospital and met Tatsuya and Aomine, he had no idea.

"I don't think that's how sex works," Aomine argued, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Also, I'm not bottomed even for myself, if it was ever possible."

"Do you have to do that?" he asked. Kagami could feel the grip around his wrist growing stronger as they joined the crowds on the street. The city was still busy with night activities; people going to clubs to pleasure themselves, working people rushing to the train station to catch the last train, teenagers in bizarre clothes hanging out, music blaring into the street.

"Do what?!" Aomine shouted but his tone was light indicating there was no heat. People were pushing forward. Kagami winced a little at the contact.

"Taking everything into sex—"

"Hey, the light's green," Aomine talked over him, drowning the words. Before Kagami could do more than gasp, he was yanked into a full sprint across the road. Kagami glanced around in panic. People looked so funny. Maybe they were glaring in their direction, or shocked, he couldn't guess when his vision was blurred, and everything appeared so weird, so fuzzy around the edges in fast motion.

It didn't take them so long to cross the busy road. With great agility and reflex they both shared, they hit the pavement within seconds. Short sprint, no biggie.

Or perhaps he thought it too soon.

As soon as Kagami's right foot landed on the pavement, he pulled Aomine back into a halt to catch his breath. He placed his free palm (Aomine was still holding his wrist) on the knee, body curving forward as he gulped down a breath.

"Getting old already, Bakagami?" Aomine smirked, finally letting go of his wrist.

Kagami glared through the black-crimson layered fringes. "Try to inhale smoke daily for three years and see if your lungs still can function properly," he straightened up his posture again. His constant exposure to smoke for three years certainly had his stamina depleted, much to his dismay.

Aomine shrugged. "Never told you to become a firefighter."

"You weren't even there when I filled out the form, so shut your mouth," he snapped a reply. Aomine was silenced by that and stared at him.

Realizing his mild reaction, Kagami bit down his lip and scratched his head exasperatedly to chastise himself. What a way to make the air awkward and heavy. He looked up from his feet and opened his mouth to apologize "I…" His mind was working fast to form a sentence. "I… was wondering where we are heading to." Instead, another (not so stupid) question came out and he wanted to kick himself at the sudden cowardice.

Aomine raised a brow but he answered nonetheless. "Your place."

"My place?"

"Yep, your place. I'm crashing at your place."

Not a request but it was an announcement. Aomine kept a straight look while Kagami stared at him, incredulous. Kagami figured 'permission' was never registered into Aomine's limited dictionary, or Aomine never believed in respecting people's privacy; Aomine had once bulldozed into his bedroom and slept in his bed without asking for his permission. That proved his assumption.

In the end, Kagami shook his head and gave in, fully knowing Aomine wouldn't take 'no' as an answer. "The opposite way, idiot."

"So, let's cross again," was the only Aomine's reply.

…

Dealing with the door lock while having Aomine's sharp eyes zeroing in on him was terrifying.

It should be a simple task; thrust the key into the lock, turn it until the clack sound is heard, and he'd done this for years. But having Aomine by his side, who hadn't been to his place for five years, with the sharp dark blue eyes hopping from his face to his shaking hand repeatedly, it was so terrifying that Kagami couldn't do as a simple task as unlock the door without his mind spiralling into another panic attack that he wasn't sure he could pull out of this time.

Then Aomine caught his hand into his, jerking Kagami out of another potential panic attack.

"Hey, chill," Aomine whispered.

It was strange to hear Aomine say that instead of questioning his sanity or well-being. As if Aomine could get the gist of his weird reactions but chose not to pinpoint it. Kagami decided to let it slide this time. He took a deep breath to calm himself. Right then Aomine had removed his hand from his, and Kagami could unlock the door without problem.

The living room was in pitch-black. White light from the corridor cast through the door, causing an exact reflection of its door squares and Kagami's and Aomine's shadow to appear on the floor. Kagami pushed the door wider and motioned for Aomine to come in. "Uh… welcome…?" he muttered awkwardly.

He noticed Aomine sweeping his gaze once before it fell on the wilted hydrangea on top of the shoes shelf. The hydrangea sagged against its transparent vase helplessly, the colour of its leaves ranging from yellow to unhealthy brown. It was slowly dying eaten by time without a proper care. "I guess botanist doesn't suit you well, huh?" Aomine said with a dry humour which didn't slip by him.

Kagami couldn't hold back the wince at the remark. "I've been busy recently, so I've got no time to take care of it…" his voice trailed off at the end because he knew that wasn't the case, and he knew Aomine knew that as well. His life had been so miserable he couldn't bring himself to care about everything else but the mistakes he'd done.

"Right, busy," and there was no word following it. Aomine toed off his shoes lazily and walked over to the dark living room, leaving his shoes mess on the floor. Kagami sighed and placed Aomine's shoes in the shelf along with his own.

He studied Aomine from the entrance. Aomine was walking all over the place, probably looking for the switch or making himself at home. A curious hum left his lips before his exploration was put into a halt when his foot collided with the couch, hard, and Aomine muttered curses, hopping around on one foot.

Pitying on Aomine, Kagami reached out to switch on the lights which was installed just above the shoes shelf (the reason why Kagami hadn't followed Aomine to the living room in the first place).

The apartment unit was suffused with bright light, revealing a simple living room with the kitchen emerged in one the corner of the room. The room was completed with simple furniture; Kagami's favourite couch, a square glass table, a TV with a grey DVD player across it, sitting perfectly between the window and the sliding door that led to the balcony. The curtain dropped from the white ceiling, slightly fluttering in the breeze. The unit apartment provided only one bedroom and a bathroom. Simple but it was more than enough for Kagami.

Aomine turned around to the front door again, still rubbing the sore foot with a pinched look.

"I was looking for that," Aomine grimaced, carefully lowering his foot again to the floor.

"And you only noticed the stupid plant," Kagami traipsed into the living room, his hands going into autopilot to arrange the cluttered basketball magazines on the glass table as soon as he neared them.

Aomine chucked his bag to the couch. "Your place hasn't changed so much."

"Doesn't need to," he answered. He wondered why Aomine hadn't questioned about the lack of certain items loitering in his house, evidence of Momoi living here as well.

"Lazy ass," Aomine snickered, pushing him aside as he flopped down on the couch. "Glad you haven't gotten rid of this thing," he patted the couch with a blissful sigh before slumping against the couch, his head tipped back and his long legs stretched out under the table. "God, I missed this couch."

He stared at Aomine for a moment with a mutter of "Idiot" then he squeezed himself into the limited space as well, pushing Aomine's body in the process – the couch was too small for them both but who cares when tiredness has taken over the body. "Move, Ahomine."

"Nope."

Kagami pushed Aomine's shoulder. "Move. You take too much space. You and your bag."

"No way. 'm tired," Aomine refused to budge, pressing more weight into the couch.

"C'mon, it's my fucking couch," Kagami argued, pushing as hard as he could that it could've sent Aomine tumbling down the couch if it wasn't because of Aomine's arm on the armrest stopped the motion.

Aomine glared at him, jaws ticking beneath the skin visibly. An alarm rang out in Kagami's head because an angry Aomine wasn't a good thing. Gasp was as far as Kagami could do before Aomine's hand suddenly snaked towards him then everything spun around him and he found himself lying across the couch, his head on Aomine's laps, his legs dangled over the other armrest, and a pair of dark blue eyes looking down at him.

And that had happened in the blink of an eye.

"You're too noisy, Bakagami," Aomine seethed under his breath, which Kagami wasn't sure to decide whether to feel alarmed at Aomine's fume or be grateful for getting into the comfortable position.

In the end, Kagami decided to keep his mouth shut at the moment to allow Aomine's anger to subside.

Aomine's eyes didn't stay on him long. Aomine rested his head against the couch, his chest heaving down steadily as he let out a deep sigh. Kagami stilled himself, taking in every detail. Being this close to Aomine, he noted that Aomine had not so visible stubbles on his chin which he had missed earlier. He absently brought his hand up to Aomine's chin and felt the sharp stubbles prickle against his trembling fingers. It reminded him of those years they had lost, and he ached, the pain a physical thing, a liquid twist in his stomach.

"Where've you been?" he managed a whisper, his words broken.

Aomine stilled for an instant, a single beat of his heart, or probably both of their hearts, and then he looked nose down at him, his face, again, devoid of emotions, the very same look he'd worn five years ago. The air, too, had the same uncomfortable, ominous silence as though the time had rewinded back to five years ago, except that they were now in his living room.

"Where've you been?" this time firmer.

"Working."

"You could give…" _me_… "…us a call."

Pause. "Busy."

"Bullshit."

Aomine fell silent. His dark blue eyes hadn't averted away but with the light bathing over Aomine and shadow playing across Aomine's face, Kagami couldn't read the emotion. The hovering silence gave Kagami an unknown feeling which was churning his stomach into a black hole. Kagami wasn't used to a silent Aomine. He was so used to boisterous, arrogant Aomine, often parrying any insults that poured out of Aomine's mouth, so when he was clashed with a silent Aomine his mind became blank.

"Say something, asshole," Kagami tried again.

"You're tired."

"Answer the fucking question!" he screamed, rousing up but there was a large palm placed over his eyes, pushing his head back into Aomine's laps. He tried to peel the hand off of his eyes to free himself with groans. "Fuck, Aomine! Let go! I can't see! I—"

"Sleep," Aomine told him.

"No, I'm not going to sleep—"

"You're tired, Kagami. Sleep," Aomine's voice was calm like he was talking to a sulking child. It sounded so foreign to Kagami's ears.

"NO!"

"Sleep."

"I—no, answer my question first, Aomine. I…" Kagami stopped prising Aomine's fingers, holding them instead. "I need to know… I—"

"Sleep."

"Please, I need to know—"

"Sleep."

Kagami let out a sigh to end all the sighs, knowing Aomine wouldn't give in. "I don't—no, I can't sleep."

"What again?"

"I can't sleep."

He remembered that he was suffering from insomnia as well. It had become his common companion, a problem that couldn't be solved with pills or exhaustion since Kenta's death, and then became worse when Tatsuya had slipped into coma. He'd tried everything to get some sleep but every time he drifted into slumber, he'd be jerked into awake by the nightmares. It was maddening. Kagami tried not to think about them when he was awake. He tried, tried and tried even though it was hurting his head, because if he gave them even the slightest opening, they would bleed out, haunting him for the rest of the day.

Most of the time, he could shove them into the darkest corner of his mind, a place he'd created with layers of unimportant things so he could stop thinking about them. But when the insomnia came, the walls and layers would crumble away then he'd end up curling himself into a cocoon while clutching his head tightly.

"Just try to sleep. You'll be fine."

That assurance… somehow it eased his heart. He wanted to prise Aomine's hand again so he could see Aomine's eyes to find the honesty behind his words, to know Aomine was telling him the truth that this time he would be really, really fine, that the nightmares wouldn't come and jerk him out into insomnia again. He, however, stopped himself from doing so because he didn't believe himself that he wouldn't cry if he did that, if he were to clash eyes with Aomine.

So he kept Aomine's hand over his eyes, the only shield he had to stop himself from bursting out.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Aomine assured him again.

Kagami swallowed. "Just… don't leave me alone," he managed. "Stay… stay with me… I don't want to be alone—" he buried the rest of the sentence in his throat, holding Aomine's hand close, inhaling the scent. Then he felt a hand on top of his, squeezing it lightly.

"I'm not going anywhere, Bakagami."

That was it. The promise was what he needed to hear. As he sank into the darkness of fathomless dreams, the promise, the sound of Aomine's steady breathing and feeling of Aomine's hands on top of his shoved away the nightmare that crept up into his sleep.

And they reminded him that he wasn't alone.


	4. Creeping nightmares

There was endless darkness stretching out in front of him. They would come, soon enough.

He wasn't moving. He floated there in the darkness, waiting for them. He could feel them, the nightmares, so close, so near, they were hovering there, slowing clawing at his skin from the tips of his fingers before creeping up his hands like black veins with thorns, threatening to devour him.

He panicked. He tried to prise them off but the veins closed up around his arm like a vice. They slithered around his arms, his legs and then pulled him down into the darkness. He lifted his hand, crying for help but only garbled words and bubbles escaped him.

They were slowly absorbing him into despair.

There were voices anywhere, yelling and laughing, vicious and brutal. He kept hearing 'your fault! Your fault! Your fault!' He wanted to cover his ears, but no, the black veins wouldn't allow him. He was trapped there, imprisoned by the nightmares and dark memories that he couldn't ignore or shake this entire time, only buried them in the back in his mind, and now they were back, swallowing him whole and he was certain this time he wouldn't come back again.

"Kagami."

The voice cut through the others, and it was so familiar, so real, but the nightmares had closed over his head, and they kept screaming 'your fault! Your fault! Your fault!' into his ears.

"Kagami. Wake up."

The voice said again. He heard it. He knew it was the right thing to do, but no, he couldn't. He was struggling to break free. The black veins were winding around his neck, strangling him, choking him.

"Kagami. Wake up."

The black veins around his neck tightened. His mouth was open in a silent scream, and water rushed into his lungs. He couldn't breathe, he was drowning but his brain kept forcing him to breathe to accommodate the lack of oxygen which caused him to gulp another water down into his lungs. He struggled again, so hard, against the veins.

"Kagami."

He needed help. He needed to breathe or he—

"Bakagami!"

Kagami jackknifed upright, unfocused eyes wide, hand clutching at his heart, breathing raggedly. His eyes were bouncing around in panic. Everything was blurred, so bright and it was hurting his eyes and head. He'd gotta move.

_Leave, leave, leave before they come back—_

"Hey!" and followed with a harsh yank on his arm, pulling him back on his ass. He looked up and found Aomine staring at him.

The look startled him and for an instant, Kagami stared at Aomine, unable to make any sense of it. What was Aomine doing here? How did he get in here? Too many questions flooded into his clouded mind. "What—" his voice was raw and gritty, thick with confusion. "Ao—Aomine? What—what are you doing here?"

"First, I need you to calm down," Aomine placed another hand on his shoulder, looking straight into his eyes. "Breathe."

"N—no," he shook his head. The veins were still creeping up his body. He could feel them. He sat there, his whole body still shaking, his breath choppy and raw in his throat.

"Breathe," this time, Aomine's voice was firmer.

"I can't—"

"Breathe."

Not knowing what to do, he took a deep breath. It was hard at first with the presence of the lump in his throat, his heart pounding wildly, and panic clenching at his chest. But after inhaling a few shallow breaths, his chest felt lighter and his breathing returned to normal. The creeping veins now were gone. He took a moment to take in the place – apparently he was in his bedroom, on the bed with the blanket pooling around his waist and Aomine sitting so close to him, so near he could feel Aomine's breaths puffing on his cheeks, and _shit_, it was so difficult for him to recount the whole thing.

"You had a nightmare," Aomine told him. "I was going to wake you up, but I found you thrashing around in your bed. Wanna talk about it?"

Kagami opened his mouth but didn't trust his voice would work. He shook his head.

"Fine. Are you okay now?"

Another shake. Whether in denials or confusion, Kagami couldn't decide. Even though he'd escaped from the nightmares, their traces bogged down his very own thinking process.

"You sure?" Aomine asked.

Kagami shook his head again.

Silence reigned for at least fifteen minutes with Kagami staring at the bed, trying so hard to shove the traces of nightmares away from his mind, and Aomine at him.

Aomine ploughed through the silence with a suggestion. "How about a breakfast?"

At last Kagami looked up from the bed. He shot Aomine a quizzical look.

"Breakfast as in eating in the early morning to supply your energy for the whole day," Aomine supplied in a condescending tone as though he was talking to a temperamental child. Kagami would've taken offense if it wasn't because of the nightmares were still messed with his mind. "Can you stand up on your own, or do you need help with that?"

"I can—I don't… I don't know."

"Ooookay," Aomine said, letting go of his arm and sitting flat on his ass. "Breakfast in bed, that's it."

He blinked, the fear now dissipating into the back of his mind at the casual remark Aomine had given him. "Wha—what?"

"Breakfast in bed," Aomine repeated. He hauled himself out of the bed. "I ain't gonna carry you. You're heavy."

It occurred to Kagami that he'd been sleeping on the couch last night. "But I'm in my bed. So… you carried me… here?"

"Ah, glad you figured out that one. That was the stupidest decision I've ever made in my life, and I learned that in the hard way," Aomine headed to the door, rubbing the base of his spine.

"I'm not fat," Kagami frowned.

"Didn't say so."

"Heavy means fat."

Aomine raised a brow at him, pausing at the opened door. "What are you, a girl? Shall I buy you tampons and chocolates?"

That angered Kagami. "Buy me a fine knife so I can stab you with it," he gritted out.

"Murdering a police officer is a serious crime."

"Murder is a crime. But you're an asshole; an exceptional," he reasoned. "I won't get convicted for killing you."

"Geez… I guess you're right," Aomine admitted. "Probably because the serious airheaded of yours is considered as a down syndrome," his last tone raised to 'oopppsss' and with hunched shoulders and a hand over his lips, he mouthed 'so cold it burns you~'

Kagami could feel his veins snapping at the mocking gesture. "You know what?"

Aomine offered a not so innocent toothy smile, slipping half of his body behind the door.

"Fuck you."

It was followed with a pillow throwing in Aomine's direction, but it landed on the door as Aomine closed it with a howl of laughter.

Kagami waited until Aomine's laughter and footsteps disappearing into the hallway before falling back to the mattress. He stared at the ceiling wordlessly. There was a beat of silence, the sound of his breathing, hard and loud that he just realized the nightmare had taken his breath away. He threw an arm over his eyes, and behind his eyelids he could see Tatsuya's and Kenta's face.

They were screaming, yelling, and blaming him, and they echoed in his ears, blocking everything else out, suffocating him, and torturing him until he bolted upright back in the bed.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. They were coming back for him. He needed to run. _Run, run, run away—_

_"Goddammit!"_

Aomine's furious curse from the other side of the door snapped him back to reality. Kagami blinked at the closed door, somewhat he could imagine Aomine cursing at something, his brows knitted together into frown, his hand scratching his dark blue hair exasperatedly, teeth gritted together.

Kagami's gaze softened at the image he came up with. The imagination was probably wrong. Maybe Aomine was screaming at the lazy black cat that was often seen loitering on his balcony. Maybe Aomine was out of his mind and needed to curse at something to relieve the stress. Whatever the cause, Kagami was relieved that Aomine had cursed, and it reminded him that he wasn't really alone at the moment.

Then he laughed. He laughed, laughed, and laughed even though it sounded so hard and harsh.

Yep, Aomine was here. With him.

With the reminder in his mind, Kagami looked at the window. The day was fine and bright. The sunlight filtered by faint dust. Waking up to see white clouds floating by in the endless blue skies was a surprise for Kagami. He used to jolt up in the middle of night because of his nightmare then stay awake until a new day dawned, so knowing that he'd actually slept through the night (even if he did enter the nightmare) was a new thing for him.

A pleasant surprise, nonetheless. He smiled.

He wondered if Aomine's presence was the cause.

Moments later, Aomine shouted "Special delivery~"

Kagami looked away from the window to Aomine in the doorway. Aomine was carrying two mugs and bowls; one of them was larger than the other one, in the tray. He watched as Aomine carefully placed the tray on the bed, the bed dipping at the presence of the new weight, the hot puff from the bowls bringing a grimace to Aomine's face.

Kagami peered at the meal. "Ramen?" his eyes flicked in Aomine's direction with an arching brow.

"Be grateful, dumbass. It's a take-out," Aomine turned away, his eyes searching. "Now, got any low table?"

"By the closet—it's fine. I'll get it."

A hand on his shoulder pushed Kagami back to the bed. Aomine glared at him and hissed; "Stay." He climbed out of the bed to get the table and Kagami's eyes followed him while he set up the table on the bed before placing the tray on it, the larger bowl in front of Kagami.

Aomine offered him the chopstick. "Now, eat."

He stared at the large bowl. "Too… much for me," he pushed the bowl away. "I can't finish this."

"Don't lie to me. I've seen you eating. You eat like pig," Aomine pointed out, wiggling the chopstick in Kagami's face.

"I…" he placed his hand on top Aomine's hovering hand, searching for a suitable word. Aomine's hand was amazingly warm. Kagami's eyes flickered down, then open again, and Aomine met his gaze without flinching. "I don't eat. I mean, not so much anymore. Am not hungry."

Aomine brought his hand to his folded legs. His dark blue eyes were clear and steady in the bright light, studying him. "What happened?"

"I—I don't know. It just happened, I—" he took a deep breath and shrugged. "Shit happened, and Tatsuya got into accident, and my appetite just… disappeared," his tone quieted down.

_Disappeared just like you._

Aomine was silent. Then shook his head. "That's not good," he said on a sigh. "That's not good. Apart from the fact that it saved your money, it's not good. We gotta fix this. Me and you," he pointed his finger to Kagami and himself back and forth. "We gotta fix this."

"No, we don't—"

"Yes, we do."

"Aomine—"

"Yes, we do," Aomine gritted out.

Kagami pressed his lips thin. It was useless to argue with Aomine when he had set up his mind. His arrogance and stubbornness would tune out any voices from entering his ears. Another Aomine's quality he didn't like but somehow he couldn't picture Aomine without it.

"Now, the first step," Aomine leaned forward to switch their bowl; Aomine got the large one, and Kagami the small one. Then he scooped out some of noodles from his current bowl into Kagami's, the soup splashing on the bed carelessly, yet it didn't stop Aomine.

"What are you doing?" he asked, incredulous.

"Dude," Aomine paused his doing. "I'm on diet. I can't finish this."

"Stupid," Kagami grinned, and it was wobbly and off centre but it felt okay on his face. It felt real, honest. "Tell me when you finally get your hourglass figure."

"Sheesh, who needs an hourglass figure when you're already an Adonis?"

"Oh gods…" he groaned, putting his face into his hands, but his smile was still there.

"Is true," Aomine smirked. "Anyway, that aside, you have to finish this, okay? No wasting food. You know what will happen to people who waste their food?"

"What?" Kagami peered into his bowl. He could finish this. He couldn't help smiling. Aomine didn't push him but he knew the right amount of pressure to push him forward to get his appetite back. Baby steps; that was what he needed at the moment.

Aomine stabbed his chopstick in Kagami's direction. "Those wasted foods are gonna hunt you down, shove a celery down your throat, make a stew out of your body with ugly, disgusting vegetables as the side dish and decoration."

Kagami barked a laugh. "Dude, that doesn't make any sense!"

"Make sense to me. I'm a carnivore. I eat meat, not vegetables," Aomine declared with a smug look. He took in the sweet smell of ramen. "Gods, 'm starving."

"Ah, that explains your dark skin," Kagami split the chopstick into two. Oh gods, that ramen looked so delicious. He could feel the warm puffs on his cheeks.

Aomine frowned. "Dude, we've had discussion about this. No more jokes about my skin. And it's got nothing to do with eating vegetables."

"But you can make fun of my eyebrows?" he questioned Aomine. "'Course it's got something to do with vegetables. Ever heard of vitamin?"

"Your brows are a special case," Aomine smirked, shoving noodles into his mouth. "Vitamin as in something poisonous?"

Kagami slurped ramen noisily. It was so good to feel the warmness in his throat as the ramen slid down into his empty stomach. "Got it wrong, Ahomine."

"Geez, who cares about vitamin? I'm a cop, not doctor. Now, eat more," Aomine threatened him with the pointing chopstick.

"Bossy." He turned away, only to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table by the bed. Its numbers read past ten. Kagami's eyes popped open wider. "Oh shit!"

"What?" Aomine asked.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," Kagami turned around in panic, an alarm blaring in his mind 'late, late, late, late, late, late!' Oh, he was fucking late for work. He was two hours late. Now he has to listen his senpai yell into his ear while having his captain's stare boring into the back of his head. He scrambled to his feet but a tug on his shirt forced him back to the bed. Kagami's head snapped ahead.

"Stay," Aomine glared at him.

"But I'm late for work!"

"Don't worry about it."

"The hell you mean by that?!"

"He called you when you were sleeping, so I answered the call and I've told your captain about it. So, relax."

Kagami stared at him in disbelief. "What did you tell him?"

"Nothing much. About you needing a day off."

"What?!" he swatted away Aomine's hand. His bowl tipped off dangerously on the edge of the table. "Why did you that?! I don't need a day off! I can work just fine!"

"The fact that your captain told me about your poor performance and lack of interaction with other colleagues in the phone convinces me you need a day off," Aomine said, his voice quiet. Clipped. Not sympathetic, just matter-of-fact.

"Since when you decided to get into my business?!" he snarled out. "You never cared about me before! You never care about anyone else! You only care about yourself!"

"Yes, I do care about you. You never realized it," Aomine's voice was calm, not perturbed by his outburst. "In fact, people care about you but you're blind to see it."

"Wha…?" Kagami was lost. He didn't understand what Aomine was talking about. Care? Aomine—no, people cared about him? Why should they? No one cared about him. He was a failure. He'd failed to save Kenta. He'd made Kenta's mother cry for nights, cry on the funeral. Because of his mistake, his captain had stood up against the media for him. He'd put his brother into the hospital bed, throwing Murasakibara's life into despair.

He was a complete tras—

"Stop doing that," Aomine said suddenly but Kagami couldn't look at him, head down, lost in his jumbled thoughts. "Stop doing that," Aomine repeated. "Stop thinking you're useless. I can see that from your oh not so handsome face and your weird eyebrows."

At Aomine's remark, Kagami met Aomine's eyes again. Aomine maintained his composure as if he'd talked about weather even though he actually had insulted his eyebrows and given him some important advice.

Kagami couldn't help the small grin. He covered it with his hand and a snort followed suit. The smile soothed the pain in the back of his mind, calming the screaming voices in his head. "Told you stop making fun of my eyebrows," his words were mostly gone into his hand.

"In your dream." Aomine placed the chopstick across his bowl. He leaned away from the table, his body held with deliberate care, his face serious.

Kagami swallowed thickly, knowing what might happen next, and when Aomine started to speak, he almost cringed.

"Your captain told me about you. About your lacking of interaction with your senpai. And about you shutting people out. What happened?"

Kagami wanted to answer the question, wanted to explain to Aomine what had happened, wanted to say something, but his mind had clamped his mouth shut. His tongue felt heavy, so he only managed to shake his head, his cheeks burning in shame for not able to give Aomine a proper answer.

"You don't wanna talk about it?" Aomine remained collected.

"No," he croaked out. At least he still had some dignity to reply.

Aomine sighed. "Fine, then. I'm gonna let it slide this time. You owe me an explanation, okay?"

"No, I don't," Kagami made a face.

"Yes, you do, and that's final," Aomine gave him a stern look. "And now," his eyes moved up and down. "Since your captain gives you a day off – you owe me a Teriyaki Burger for that – and told me to take care of you for one day, might as well do some shopping."

"Shopping for…" he trailed off, waiting for Aomine to continue his sentence.

"For your clothes, dumbass. Look at yourself."

Kagami swept a gaze through his own body. He was still wearing the same clothes. His brows were knitted into frown. He didn't get Aomine's point.

"You idiot. You look so ugly I could cry. Even kids have a better sense of fashion than you do," Aomine supplied.

"What the…"

Aomine snapped his fingers. "I think I wanna eat Teriyaki Burger later." Aomine pierced Kagami with a warning glare, brooking no argument. Then he rolled out of the bed and skirted around. "So up, up, up, get your fat ass moving. We're going out today to do some shopping and buy me Teriyaki Burger. Wash your not-so-handsome face and wear some decent clothes. I don't want to pair up with an ugly dude. It'll ruin my reputation."

Kagami groaned, falling to his side heavily. The bed sank and the bowls and cups clinked loudly. He was pretty darn sure some warm liquid splashed onto his bed sheet but at the moment he didn't care about it. The cups and bowls could've fallen on the floor and been broken, he wouldn't care.

He just didn't want to go anywhere.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'd like to have Okonomiyaki Chibo with additional of bacon mochi and cheese, and kim chee shrimp," Aomine ordered his meal from behind the menu.

"You, sir?" the young sturdy waiter with wavy black hair turned to Kagami, his pencil poised over where he'd written Aomine's order down. "Your order?"

Kagami cracked a sheepish smile. "I don't—"

"Make it two," Aomine put down the menu and raised two fingers.

The waiter noted this down. "How about drinks?" he asked.

"Hot sake for two as well," Aomine said.

"Noted. Anything else, sir?" he inquired.

"Nope. That's all."

The waiter disappeared after repeating their order. It was afternoon and Chibo Restaurant was thronged with people who were clad in formal suit. The chairs around diner-style counter had been filled while two chefs were on duty to prepare the dish in front of the customers. The sweet smell of okonomiyaki and yakisoba enveloped the restaurant. Aomine had chosen to sit in the corner to attract less attention to them, yet they still stood out like a sore thumb due to their casual outfit—and their ridiculous height made it worse too.

Aomine paid no heed to their surroundings, casually thumbing through the menu even though Kagami had fixed a menacing glare on him.

"What are we doing here?" Kagami asked through his gritted teeth.

"Having lunch."

"We've had our lunch, Ahomine," he bellowed. "Or you have forgotten the fact that you used _my money_ to buy two large crepes?"

"And?"

"You fucking shoved one down my throat, asshole!" Kagami thumped the table furiously. It swirled people's attention to them. He muttered a curse under his breath. "Sorry," Kagami raised a hand in apology.

"You're loud, Bakagami," Aomine said.

"That was your fault."

"I didn't do anything."

"You did everything, Ahomine," Kagami rested his folded arms on the table and leaned in. "You dragged me around Ginza which happened to be on peak hour and people kept bumping shoulders with me because you kept marching forward without looking back, and we did that for a goddamned white t-shirt that can be found in any stores in Japan, and we ended up not buying it. You made me pay for your fucking crepes and apparently I've gotta eat that as well even though I've told you 'no' for thousand times. And now you dragged me here to have lunch? Fuck you."

Finally, Aomine put the menu aside and clashed gaze with him. "Are you on period?"

"What?" Kagami was suddenly whisked away from anger.

"Are you on period? I can buy you chocolates. Tons of them."

"What the—of course not!" he sputtered, his cheeks bright. "I'm not a girl, you idiot."

"You sure?" Aomine cocked his head to the side. He sounded too skeptical by this. "Because you just recounted the whole thing, from a-z, and I genuinely thought only girls are capable of doing that."

Kagami was lost for words because of his silent fume. Aomine had a smirk plastered on his face. Irritated, Kagami removed his glare from Aomine and pursed his lips. "I fucking hate you so much."

"I know that," Aomine said, amusement bubbling beneath his words which convinced Kagami that Aomine never believed him and dismissed it casually. It felt different from their usual bickering which often loaded with hatred and anger. There was something familiar about the tone Aomine had taken with him and the way he'd said it.

The waiter arrived with a large bowl and a plate of additional ingredients and drinks they'd ordered. He switched on the _teppan_ (special hotpot) that had been fitted on the table for cooking later. Kagami offered him a polite 'thank you' for his service while Aomine quietly sipped on the hot sake.

"Enjoy your meal," the waiter wished.

Kagami nodded.

"Kagami, cook okonomiyaki for me," Aomine said, not quite requesting, after the waiter had left.

"Seriously?" Kagami gave him a withering glare. "You're a grown-up man now. Do it yourself."

"But your cooking is the best."

Kagami stared at him for a second in shock, and then smiled, picking up the spatula that had been placed by the _teppan_ and the bowl that contained the mixture. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood," he poured the mixture on the _teppan_; one for him and one for Aomine. Kagami flattened the mixture to form two pancakes. He added a few pieces of bacon and shrimp on top of each pancake before skilfully flipping them over.

"Man, you make a great housewife," Aomine commented in a childish-like glee.

"Stop saying that," he glowered at Aomine.

Aomine smirked around the mouth of sake cup. "Make me dinner later."

"I'm not your wife."

"I didn't say anything about that."

"You're an asshole."

"But now I'm your guest and you need to treat me nicely. So make me dinner later," Aomine parried effortlessly.

Kagami shot him an annoyed look. "No."

"I'll buy the supplies."

"I said no."

"My treat," Aomine bargained.

"No means no," he pointed the spatula in Aomine's direction warningly.

"Your fridge is getting emptier. Might as well fill it up," Aomine pointed out.

Kagami backed away in surprise. "Wait a second! Are you saying you rummaged around my fridge?"

"I wanted to make breakfast but it is almost empty, hence the take-out," Aomine shrugged like it was no big deal and returned to sipping his sake.

"Well, you don't have to fill up the fridge, though," Kagami muttered in embarrassment, rubbing his neck. "It is _my_ fridge, so it's my responsibility. Not yours."

"I don't care about whose responsibility or whatnot. I want you to cook me dinner, so I'm gonna buy some groceries," Aomine decided.

"Stop being so difficult."

"_You_ stop being difficult."

Kagami's stern look shifted and eventually fell away at the obvious superiority and warning on Aomine's face. He flipped their okonimiyaki over to avoid them from getting burnt and Aomine's sharp eyes. "Do whatever you want. I don't care anymore."

"You don't have to be so uptight about this," Aomine sighed.

"I'm sorry for refusing to rely on others," he said, his tone thickened with stubbornness. His apology sounded empty and fake. Anger was roaring just below his skin. Kagami hadn't moved his eyes from the okonomiyaki, starting to stab them with the spatula in protest.

Aomine caught his hand to keep it from destroying the okonomiyaki. "You're such an idiot. Sometimes it's good to rely on other people and be open with them."

That struck a chord in Kagami. He snapped his head up so fast it almost gave him a whiplash. "Stop saying like you fucking know me!"

Aomine wasn't deterred. "Try me."

"You weren't even there when I was at my worst," he flung. "So shut the fuck up and don't speak like you know me."

"Then tell me," Aomine suggested. "If you're so damn adamant about me not knowing you, then tell me everything."

Kagami frowned, not liking the direction of their conversation was heading to. "Since when you become a counsellor?"

"Since you threw me those shitty accusations," Aomine paused to take an audible shallow breath. "You got frustrated, I get that. From your nightmare, I know it's getting worst too. You really need to talk about it."

"Your okonomiyaki is ready," Kagami suddenly announced and took a set of chopstick with the intention of swivelling Aomine's attention away from the topic. He wasn't overly fond of sharing his problems with people.

"Bakagami."

He sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"What happened to you?"

"What happened to _you_?" he shot back but much harsher. "You fucking disappeared! Without a word, too."

"Told you; working," Aomine was unperturbed.

Kagami snorted. "_Working_," he scoffed complacently.

Aomine snapped the chopstick into two. He cut the okonomiyaki into smaller pieces with the chopstick. "Another mood swing. I'm honestly starting to question your gender. Let's buy a pink dress for you."

"Can you please stop doing that?" he gave Aomine a dark look.

"Doing what?" Aomine feigned lost.

"You're a fucking bastard," Kagami snapped. He nibbled on a small piece of okonomiyaki to chase the anger away. It tasted good. Seemed that his cooking skill hadn't yet gone rusty. A little thing, but it made his heart lift a little.

"So… I'm not only an asshole and counsellor, but now a bastard as well?"

"They sound pretty much similar to me."

"Different meaning."

"In your case, they're semantics," he said, mindlessly taking a larger bite of okonomiyaki. "Everything leads to poking into someone's life."

"You're using a difficult word. I don't get it," Aomine shoved another piece of okonomiyaki into his mouth.

"Don't worry, Ahomine. I'm not expecting anything from you," Kagami smirked, inserting a dark humour there. He caught a subtle twitch on Aomine's brow—Aomine got it—and that felt so good.

"Shut up, Bakagami. Just eat your okonomiyaki."

Kagami grinned, a genuine smile that wasn't hinting any trouble or hiding any pain. It felt honest and right although he was smiling triumphantly at Aomine's pouting look—at Aomine's childishness as he chipped away at his okonomiyaki with his chopstick but he knew Aomine didn't mind it because of the pleasant smirk emerged on Aomine's lips right after.

It felt really good.

.

Kagami and Aomine returned home—Kagami's place—from the grocery, armed with plenty of supplies to make _sukiyaki_ (a hotpot dish prepared with thinly sliced meat, vegetables, mushroom, tofu and _shirataki_—_konyaku_ noodles—simmered in a sweet soy sauce broth, which Kagami had laughed at Aomine's request, considering the fact that Aomine had stubbornly declared he doesn't eat vegetables) to accommodate the cold weather.

"I'm home," Kagami said to no one particular out of pure reflex.

"Welcome home," Aomine said as he traipsed in.

The simple greeting left Kagami feeling a bit nonplussed. It rooted him to the spot. He used to hear his greeting unanswered, echoing throughout the dark apartment like a hollow voice. Now seeing someone else there and having his greeting answered, they quelled the ache of loneliness and brought a pleasant feeling fluttering in his stomach.

But, no. He wasn't going to admit it. "That's wrong, Ahomine," he said peevishly to conceal the flutter in his stomach. Kagami entered the living room after he'd placed his and Aomine's shoes in the shelf.

Aomine had tossed his jacket to the couch and put down the plastic bags on the counter top, not really caring, and started to rummage around. Kagami, too, began sorting out the supplies and filling up the fridge. His hands dived into one of the plastic bags but he got distracted when Aomine, too, shoved his hand in.

"Hey!" Kagami backed away in surprise.

Aomine casually whistled a tune and fished a regular-sized cup of Häagen-Dazs ice-cream out of the plastic bag. He marvelled at the ice-cream for a second, lifting it up in the air like a kid just got his first Christmas present, and Kagami was honestly questioning Aomine's mentality at the moment. Aomine proceeded to get a spoon and prise the lid open before digging in, not giving a flying fuck even when Kagami stared at him in disbelief.

"When did you get that?" Kagami inquired.

"Wven you vere zo busy choozing the eggz," Aomine answered around the spoon, his teeth holding it.

Kagami squashed the urge to reach forward and yank the spoon out of Aomine's mouth. "That thing is expensive."

"But tasty," Aomine pointed the spoon to him.

"Don't do that," he pushed Aomine's hand away and went to sorting again. "Disgusting," he said, voice heavy with annoyance.

Aomine placed the spoon between his teeth again. "Vanna try?"

"No," he snipped. Kagami wondered if Aomine did that to rile him up.

Distracted by the supplies, Kagami didn't realize the spoon nearing him until it was pressed between his lips. Startled, he jumped away at the direct contact and shot a look at Aomine with the back of his hand on his abused lips. He could taste the sweetness of chocolate on his lips.

"The hell, man?" Kagami asked.

"Say 'aaaahhhh~'" Aomine wiggled the spoon.

"No."

"Say 'aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh~'" Aomine opened his mouth wider.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-nine days younger than you," Aomine tentatively closed the distance between them.

Kagami gave him a dark look. "You're not going to give up, aren't you?"

"Never."

Sighing, Kagami gave it a try. The sweetness of chocolate flooded his mouth, and Kagami almost moaned in bliss. True to Aomine's words, the ice-cream tasted great, he secretly admitted with a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Satisfied, now?" Kagami muttered peevishly, going back to the supplies to avoid the eye contact with Aomine. Embarrassment was simmering just below the surface.

"Very much," Aomine smirked, voice suffused with satisfaction. He edged around the counter with a hum of a merry tune, heading to the couch.

Seeing an opportunity, Kagami quickly took off his winter jacket. "Ahomine," he called out to Aomine and pitched it to him, which Aomine successfully caught it without so much effort.

Aomine arched a brow, the spoon – again – between his teeth.

"Put it away for me. I'm going to start cooking now," Kagami folded the sleeves to his elbows and wore a white apron he'd gotten from the cabinet above. "And make sure you keep your damned spoon and ice-cream away from my jacket," he warned Aomine.

Aomine lowered the spoon away and stuck his tongue out. "Bitchy," and he went to the bedroom, closing the door.

"Don't push your luck, Ahomine!" Kagami shouted as to let Aomine hear him. Kagami walked around the kitchen to gather the items he needed for cooking. He separated the vegetables and beef slices, placing them under the running water. As the pan was heated up, he closed the water tap and mixed soy sauce, sugar, stock, and _mirin_ together in a bowl to make _sukiyaki_ sauce. Then he started prepping the vegetables and beef slices.

Kagami looked up from the counter. Aomine hadn't come back from the bedroom. The door was still shut close.

He continued searing the beef slices. A sweet scent of burnt beef wafted in the air. Kagami grimaced at the heat the pan emitted. As soon as the beef slices turned brown, which was moments later, he moved it to the corner and added the vegetables while keeping them separated. The sauce was poured into the pan, the sound of sizzling beef and vegetables dissipating as the thick liquid filled the pan.

Kagami looked up again. Still no sign of Aomine. Without Aomine's presence the hollow silence seemed ominous. The living room suddenly felt wider, and darker. It gave him an unsettling feeling, a memory of loneliness, and threatened him to knock him into depression. Kagami swallowed thickly.

He quickly shook his head to distract himself and put on the lid to cover the pan. Kagami took a few brisk strides to the bedroom.

Opening the door ajar, Kagami slipped his head in.

He found Aomine laying on his stomach, in his bed, his cheek pressed into the pillow with his eyes close indicating sleeping. Half of Aomine's face was buried in the white pillow. The spoon in his right hand was dangling over the side of the bed, close to the bedside table (how he still could hold the spoon in his sleep was indeed a miracle). Aomine's lips parted a little, and a light snore was heard, and for a moment Kagami felt relief surge through his body, his shoulder and his hand on the doorknob relax, and a sigh left his lips.

He picked up his way to the bed. Kagami sat down on the floor by the bed, cold spreading across his thighs, and he watched Aomine sleep.

Aomine looked peaceful when he was sleeping. There was no scowl marring his face or frown knitting his brows together. His shoulders were relaxed. His back was heaving in a steady tempo, the telltale sign of normal breathing. Aomine suddenly let out a sigh, to Kagami's surprise, and all of the tension seemed to leak out of his body. No sign of menacing aura either, just a childish look in Aomine's expression as though Aomine was now left unaware of his surroundings.

Kagami pondered if anyone had the chance to see Aomine Daiki sleeping peacefully. Somehow, he felt privileged to have the chance to see this rare side of Aomine.

He quirked the slightest of smiles at the thought, feeling a tingling sensation swooping in his stomach. He got to his feet with a loud huff, intending to store the _sukiyaki_ into the fridge for tomorrow.

However, the smile vanished as soon as Kagami glimpsed the dripping ice-cream on his bedside table. And right then Kagami didn't see anything but red.

"Damn you!" he bonked Aomine's head, hard, without mercy. Aomine jolted out of his sleep with a loud pained yell.

"What the _fucking_ hell?!" Aomine spun around on the bed and lifted his head just enough to level Kagami with a glare, left hand on his sore head.

Kagami stood straight, _taller_. "You left your damned ice-cream dripping, bastard!" he flung his arm to point at Aomine's ice-cream.

Aomine's eyes followed his pointing finger, his movement slow and languid. He raised a brow. "Ah… ice-cream," he simply said, letting his head fall back to the pillow. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm.

"Don't give me that shit," Kagami kicked Aomine's leg. "Get up and clean up your damned ice-cream. The _sukiyaki_ should've been cooked by now. Get up, get up, get up," he lightly kicked Aomine again.

"Don't wanna," Aomine groaned.

"Don't make me drag you out of the bed, Ahomine," he threatened.

"Aww… c'mon."

"I'm serious," he lifted Aomine's right leg up with a raised brow.

"Okay, okay, okay," Aomine pushed himself up to sit. Kagami caught the spoon touching his bed sheet but too annoyed to care. "I'm up. No dragging, okay?"

"Now, on your feet," Kagami said.

"Geez," Aomine whined, hauling out of the bed.

"Your ice-cream," Kagami reminded him.

Clicking his tongue, Aomine grabbed the ice-cream and put the spoon into his mouth. "Mama-Gami," he snubbed, his word disoriented, and shuffled out of the bedroom.

Kagami followed him with an amused smile.

.

Kagami had lost count of the number of times he'd blinked in the darkness of his bedroom.

Insomnia kept finding him every time he placed his head on the pillow with the intention to sleep. The memories of Kenta and Tatsuya kept flickering behind his eyelids. The voices inside his head were crying out in alarm, begging him, blaming him, reminding him of his mistakes.

He tried to relegate them to the back of his mind but his mind was full of water, deep water with an endless depth, and down below, there were blood and nightmares, creeping around his legs ever so slowly, waiting for an opening, even a slightest opening to bog him down into despair. Kagami could never force its obedience, only build more and more useless thoughts around them to barricade himself in his bubble. However, few pieces of Tatsuya and Kenta memories would always find a way to circle his mind, and Kagami was left awake in his guilty.

No matter how exhausted his body was, Kagami couldn't sleep because the water was still there. It existed and didn't care about the condition of his body.

Refusing to give in, Kagami roused from the bed. He needed to move around and distract himself to regain the control over his mind. He needed to build walls around it, walls of unimportant tasks that always obeyed him, stupid thoughts, or even a boring basketball game.

Kagami staggered out of the bedroom. Bright light from the couch caught his attention. He was halted in the doorway.

Aomine was still wide awake, eyes to the cell phone in his hand.

"Aomine?" Kagami called out.

Aomine met his eyes without flinching. "You haven't slept?"

"I… uh," he hesitated, eyes looking away. "…can't sleep," he mumbled under his breath but still loud enough for Aomine to hear. He felt bashful all of a sudden, the taste of embarrassment and shame on the tip of his tongue too strong for his liking.

"Insomnia again?"

Kagami nodded hesitantly, in hopes the darkness of the living room conceals the blush on his cheek.

"Oh," Aomine simply said, glancing at the TV. "You think you have Wall-E DVD stored in somewhere here?" he suddenly asked, taking Kagami by surprise.

Kagami blinked at Aomine, clueless, the whirling thoughts and embarrassment diffusing into genuine surprise. Aomine tossed him a questioning look, not paying heed to the surprise expression of Kagami's look. Kagami recovered after a second. "I think it's in the DVD shelf."

"Alright," and without another word, Aomine flipped his cell phone close and went to the DVD shelf. Kagami kept watching, incredulous, as Aomine searched said movie, a hum of an unknown song leaving his lips. Aomine whooped gleefully when he'd found the DVD and raised it to Kagami's line of sight without looking back. He put on the DVD and walked over the couch again. He flopped down and motioned for Kagami to join him. "C'mon. The movie is starting."

And that just made Kagami more confused.

"Hey, come here. The movie is starting," Aomine said, putting his outstretched legs on the table.

Shaking his head to arrange his cluttered thoughts, Kagami took a seat next to Aomine. Aomine absently draped the blanket Kagami had lent him over Kagami's body. Kagami threw him a perplexed look but Aomine had fixed his eyes on the TV.

"Just watch the movie, Bakagami," Aomine told him without returning the look.

Kagami shifted his gaze ahead. "Why Wall-E?"

"Because it's awesome and Eva is awesomely cute," Aomine answered. "Just don't cry, okay? I'm not good at dealing with tears."

Kagami felt a ghost of a smile curl his lips. "Yeah, coz' you're too arrogant to give a shit about others' feelings," he shifted to get more comfortable. Without thinking about it, Kagami was actually shifting closer to Aomine, shoulder meeting shoulder, and he sank deeper into the couch. He couldn't help feeling relax at Aomine's stupid remark.

Aomine hushed him. "I'm watching the movie already, Bakagami."

Letting out a low, rough chuckle, Kagami shot back with Aomine's own words. "Just don't cry, okay? I'm not good at dealing with tears."

"Shut up."

The movie had started with Wall-E wandering around the landfill site, its wheels whirring noisily. The screen emitted low light as it showed the planet which was littered with waste materials floating alone in the universe.

And somehow, to Kagami, they were strangely relaxing, slowly lulling him to sleep, and his eyes slowly were fluttering close.

In the end, Kagami didn't have the chance to see Aomine crying. He had actually drifted off even before Wall-E met Eva.


End file.
